L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)

Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing

His 3 other aircraft were built at Astra, de la Meurthe's new company. All were tandem monoplanes: the second was marked Astra on the rear of the fuselage, and the third was marked Kapferer-Paulhan, as the first should have been also, since both had been designed at least in principle by the young Louis Paulhan from an earlier model built by Paulhan and Burdin, and perhaps Peyret; a photo shows Paulhan and Peyret holding up a large tandem model with twin pusher propellers.

Kapferer-Paulhan No 1 (or Kapferer-Astra): A tandem with the tail unit set on long outriggers, one set above the other. It had a short deep fuselage with mica panels set into the sides of the circular open cockpit just ahead of the leading edge of the rear wings, which were set at the same height as the front pair and with reduced angle of attack. The spars were fitted into special aluminum boxes inside the fuselage. A small forward elevator was set between the front wings and the engine, and a cruciform tail was mounted on a universal ball joint. The covering was varnished parchment. It may not have been completed in this form.

Kapferer-Paulhan No 2 (or Kapferer-Astra): This one resembled the first, less the twin outriggers, and may have been the same airframe.

Kapferer-Paulhan No 3 (or Kapferer-Astra): A long Langley-type tandem, with a long narrow rectangular fuselage, clear-doped, on a Voisin-style undercarriage with 2 trailing wheels forward and a third wheel under the tail. A 35 hp semi-radial REP drove a tractor 4-blade metal propeller; 2 small square rudders were set at the tail, one above and the other below, with an elevator hinged at the rear. The thin wings showed a "quadruple curve" and a high angle of attack, the forward set higher than the rear. Tested in the summer of 1908, the machine may not have been able to take off. It is possible that all 3 of these machines were developments of the same single airframe, Kapferer No 1.

(Spans: 8.6 m; length: 11m; wing area: 32 sqm; 35 hp REP)

Журнал Flight

Flight, January 9, 1909

THE FIRST PARIS AERONAUTICAL SALON.

Kapferer ("Astra").

Double monoplane built by the Soc. Sourcouf. It is a much larger machine than the majority of the single-seaters, and has a somewhat heavy appearance. The rear main plane has slightly less spread, and is slightly lower, than the front main plane; the pilot's seat is just in front of the rear plane. At the rear extremity of the longitudinal girder is the rudder and the elevator, both members being divided to extend on each side of a central axis. The engine - a 7-cyl. 35-h.p. R.E.P. - is placed right in front and drives a 2-bladed tractor screw mounted direct on the end of the crank-shaft.

The Kapferer-Paulhan (Kapferer-Astra) No 2 - perhaps No 1 without the tail outriggers. Note the small numerals 1 and 3 painted above the wing roots: presumably 2 and 4 are on the other side, and all 4 panels may be the same.